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History of Syria’s war at risk as YouTube reins in content/node/1160256/middle-east

History of Syria’s war at risk as YouTube reins in content

Associated Press|Published — Wednesday 13 September 2017

This undated file frame grab from video posted online Monday, May 29, 2017 by the Aamaq News Agency, a media arm of the Daesh group, shows people inspecting damage from airstrikes and artillery shelling in the northern city of Raqqa, Syria. (Aamaq News Agency via AP)

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BEIRUT: Syria’s civil war has been one of the modern world’s most brutal conflicts and one of its most heavily filmed. Hundreds of thousands of amateur videos uploaded to YouTube document every heartbeat of the war over the past seven years, from momentous events like cities under bombardment to intimate scenes like a father cradling his dead children.
Syrian activists fear that history could be erased as YouTube moves to rein in violent content. In recent months, the tech giant has implemented new policies to remove material considered graphic or supporting terrorism, and hundreds of thousands of videos from the conflict suddenly disappeared without notice.
Activists say crucial evidence of human rights violations risks being lost — as well as an outlet to the world that is crucial for them.